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(Hopefully not to be a short lived adventure!)

DJI – Mavic Air.

The beginnings of becoming a “Dronie”

A few years ago a new kid arrived in the seemingly already overloaded world of technology and gadgets, a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) as a domestically available quadcopter or Drone. The first quadcopter was the Omnichen 2 invented in 1920 by Etienne Omnichen. This craft made 1000 successful flights and flew a recorded distance of 360 meters (1181.1 feet). This is a height which can be achieved by the relatively tiny quadcopter of today. Mine can achieve a lot higher. I remember falling in line with the others who had a completely negative view of such a device. Well that was around 6 years ago and for a long time I didn’t really consider it as a serious option and certainly didn’t think it could have a place in my world of photography. So, what changed!

Firstly, I am 68 and I keep telling myself that it’s just a number! At my age perhaps it was time to dip my toe into a new possibilities that looked like adding an exciting new element to my photographic How many times have I wanted to get new perspectives of well trodden paths most especially when trying to capture landscape imagery? So, I saw the world of the UAV as being an opportunity to both do something different (well, I mean different for me at least), and hopefully have some fun into the bargain.

Then there was my friend Dave. Dave dipped his toe into the world of drones a year or so ago and through his blog I understood that there was a lot to be gained from a tool that allowed to achieve new perspectives. In the autumn of 2017 we met at dawn for some photography at Llanddwyn Island on Anglesey and Dave had brought his DJI Mavic Pro. I was amazed at how it seemed to be so easily controlled, but most importantly seeing the images taken at such different perspectives, a button somewhere inside me switched on. The only problem was that I was finding carrying my traditional camera gear difficult and although I had moved to a lighter system with great success, I didn’t want to burden my arthritic shoulders by investing in extra weight. The Mavic Pro was physically quite large and weighed in at 750 grams. It would be difficult to fit all that one needed on a photo jaunt into a single backpack, let alone cope with the extra weight. Then, in 2017 DJI launched the Mavic Air weighing in at 350 grams and would fit in a jacket pocket if required. With a few batteries and its controller it certainly fitted in my camera bag along with a camera and a few lenses. So, the journey began.

The most important promise I made to myself was that I would be a cautious and responsible drone user. The very first thing was to aquaint myself with both the law and the Drone Codes issued by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and NATS (National Air Traffic Control). I embarked on a training course and took out public liability insurance. The Drone world is fairly heavy with errant owners and in fact it’s probably best that I bought my Drone now! More about this aspect later, so let’s get down to my Drone journey so far and why it gives me the pleasure that my drone gives me.

From 398ft.

I had only just started to get used to all the technical aspects when an opportunity arrived. A friend had been asked by the Lady Captain of my local golf club if we could provide eight images of the golf course for mounting and framing which would be her main prizes on Lady Captain Day. I gave up golf ten years ago and returned to serious photography, frankly I was a useless golfer. Whether I’m a better photographer than a golfer is open to debate! A friend told her I’d just bought a drone and this excited them as it would give a different perspective. Imagine how much it would have cost some years ago to hire a helicopter. I was reluctant, but was given the opportunity of a trial run on a glorious, warm spring evening. I was pleased with results from my first serious flight.

After two shoots eight images were
selected, five from the drone and three
ground images from my Fuji X-T2. The
first issue is that the drone had a tiny
sensor similar to that found in a smart
phone. At 12MP which from a dSLR or my Fuji this would have been fine, but as the request was three images, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place were to be 20 x 16 inch I needed to look at how I could upsize for printing. This was in fact easier than I thought as I had already had a much underused On1 software suite which contains “Resize”, many years ago this was known as “Genuine Fractals”. The images produced from the Drone was 4056x3040px (RAW and JPEG). So, I first enlarged the image to 6000x4000px and printed out a full size A3+ print. I was amazed at the quality and definition and certainly with some more work acceptable. The one area was blocked pixels causing for example trees to look a bit like brocalli! I overcame this in Photoshop by using post processing trickery, I was good to go. All except one of the images were printed by myself, the largest print (20×12 ins) exceeded my printers capabilities and was outsourced.

I was delighted to see my images professionally mounted and framed.

As a result of this I have been asked by so many
members of the club for copies and to undertake a project for the Golf Club over the four seasons. In addition they would like to promote the club with table mats, mugs etc. Whilst I am delighted to be asked, I have absolutely no interest in making money out of photography and in any

event I do not have a commercial drone licence. So my work was to be at the cost of my materials and a donation made to a charity of my choice. This way I see it as a win, win and win again situation. I get to enjoy the opportunity of using my drone, the club gets
their promotional media and a charity benefits too.

Beyond the golf course.

Of course a drone allows opportunities to capture images in extraordinary ways. It doesn’t always have to be from hundreds of feet above either. How often has one been on a location and wished to get that bit higher or wanted rid of an obstruction? I hope these images demonstrate how an almost impossible angle can be achieved without falling or drowning! Taken in the Lake District in the Duddon Valley access to the bridge was impossible, so the drone was employed.

Some other examples:

A55 Rhuallt Hill – 162ft.

Llyn Crafnant – 225ft.

My home town – Rhuddlan 210ft.

Dinorwig Quarry – Snowdonia – 195ft.

Autumn opportunity.

Once again the golf club provided a wonderful opportunity. After a slow start the autumn colours, misty morning and frosts have arrived. An early start and almost anyone except the hardiest of golfers had arrived, I spend a superb few hours capturing the course in the golden early morning light just after sunrise.

Rhuddlan Golf Course – 85ft.

Rhuddlan Golf Course – 160ft.

Rhuddlan Golf Course – 256ft.

Rhuddlan Golf Course – 130ft.

Rhuddlan Golf Course – 312ft.

Conclusions.

I have had a great amount of pleasure using the drone, but the future looks like a stormy ride! Earlier I stated that the one single most important promise I made myself, was that I would be a cautious and responsible drone user.

A rogue element of drone owners are wholly responsible for the CAA and UKGOV deciding to take serious steps in terms of legislation. The problem is that anyone can buy a drone, unbox it and just fly and some use drones for illicit purposes. This is a worry for all conscientious drone users. I’m fearing that my journey may well be short lived as new legislation may add an increasing burden. Also, the introduction of FINS, or Flight Information and Notification System. This means users would have to prepare and log pre flight intentions, so no more spontaneous take offs! Also, far more “no fly zones” are sure to be introduced. The USA and Germany to mention just two are screwing down their airspace to a point where it just ain’t worth having a Drone!

I am just hoping that my journey doesn’t end with my drone becoming an expensive ornament on the mantelpiece. Hopefully, both Dave and I will look forward to many years of enjoyment being Dronies!

and finally…..

I was asked to produce a 2019 calendar for the golf club. Also, my images will now be used as media for their upgraded website. So, all in all a good year and as mentioned earlier, donations for my work and efforts have been made by the golf club to a charity very close to my heart. I”ll pop a pic here as soon as I receive a copy 🙂

Below are a few of the DJI Mavic Air specifications. Also a some details of the Drone Codes and future law which must be adhered to.

My ever so gentle migration from Nikon to Fujifilm for wildlife photography.

Here I”ll talk about my experiences with the Fuji X-T3 for wildlife photography. For all other genres such as Landscapes, Street etc. the camera pretty much speaks for itself. As I upgraded from the X-T2, I can honestly say this is a worthy upgrade whatever your genre of photography.

Folks have starting asking why I’ve switched and why Fuji X exclusively instead of Nikon for my wildlife work? So please bear with me as I explain my reasoning before I move on to why the Fuji X-T3 combined with the (1.4X TC) is NOW my weapon of choice for wildlife!

I’ve been a keen wildlife photographer for around nine years having owned Nikon FX (D700, 800 and 800E) and DX (D300, 7000, 7100) cameras. My lenses included the Nikon 80-400mm VRII, 300mm f4 PF VR, 300mm f4 PF ED VR and the Sigma 150-600mm f5.6-6.3 C. In 2016 I bought the Nikon D500 for wildlife, the X-T2 was launched later that year also a Fuji 100-400mm lens to fit it arrived. I tried the combination, however in my view the EVF refresh was too slow. The EVF (Electronic View Finder lacked clarity when compared to Nikon’s optical viewfinder. TheEVF relatively slow refresh time annoyed me and as I owned the Nikon 100-400mm and Sigma 150-600mm lenses the Fuji’s ability to switch from long to short focus drove me around the bend! I swapped back it in favour of the Nikon 80-400mm VRII and abandoned Fuji for wildlife. Basically until in the latter part of the X-T2 life the AF system, especially for tracking birds, just couldn’t compete with the Nikon D500 and my long Nikon and Sigma long lenses in terms of AF acquisition.

Another major factor which persuaded me towards buying the X-T3 with the 100-400mm lens, was that I have recently developed osteoarthritis in my shoulders. This has made lifting the Nikon and lenses to the eye extremely difficult and at times very painful. I’ve tried monopods and tripods and I find that they just get in the way, especially when trying to photograph birds in flight, although sometimes I have no choice but to use these devices. Anything which saved weight had to be a bonus, but could Fuji eventually claim the wildlife crown?

In September of this year the Fuji X-T3 was launched and this marked the end of my long term affair with Nikon. So, onto the X-T3 itself. This short review looks at why the Fuji X-T3 combined with the Fuji 100-400mm works so well for me.

The Fujifilm X-T3.

Initially, I didn’t think that the X-T3 would give me much over the X-T2, so I ignored it. A week later I was reading about the capabilities of it in terms of both speed of AF and frames per second, I had considered the Fuji H1, but the X-T3 spec seemed to exceed it. Ok it claims Approx. 14fps [but Only electronic shutter] and it is more dSLR..esq with extra weight too boot! In so many ways the X-T3 claimed to exceed the capabilities of my D500 too! If it could then perhaps all my prayers had been answered!

First let us look at some key specifications. I’m only quoting those which are relevant to fast photography for sports and wildlife.

Some key specification comparisons:

Fuji X-T3 Nikon D500.

Sensor: 26.1mp 20.9mp

Frames per second (RAW)

Mechanical shutter: 11 fps 10fps

Electronic shutter: 20 fps N/A

Focus points: 425 point AF 153 total dynamic.

Sensor crop: x1.25 x1.5

Viewfinder magnification: 0.75x equiv. 0.67x equiv.

Battery life: 395 shots estimated. 1240 shots estimated

Fuji X-T3 = Optional grip x 2 batteries extends total to 1185 shots.

Nikon D500 =Optional grip x 1 battery extends to 1480 shots

Weight – Body Only: 539g 860g

Weight inc. VPB – T3 grip: 373g 408g inc 1 x battery.

(inc 2 x batteries)

Comments regarding the specifications and performance compared to the Nikon D500.

It is clear to see that in every aspect, except that of battery life, the Fuji X-T3 on paper at least exceeds everything the Nikon D500 has to offer.

First comparison – Bench Test:

I should clarify that the manufacturers frames per second claims lived up in real life use and in fact the buffering speed of the RAW files was equal to the Nikon D500. Using a Lexar x2000 SDHC II 3 10, the shutter fired 30 frames in under 3 seconds and buffered all uncompressed RAW images in under 10 seconds. Wow! That’s was a good starting point to build confidence in the X-T3 and I hadn’t even left the house.

Real world shooting:

OK – This is where the real work starts. Time to test the X-T3 coupled with the Fuji 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens. This would enable me to test the system pitched against my experience with my Nikon D500 coupled with my Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 G ED VRII lens.

Without the grip the X-T3 felt totally out of balance, but so does to a lesser extent the Nikon D500 and 80-400mm lens. However, with the VPB – XT3 grip the combination felt well balanced, likewise the Nikon with the MB-D17 grip, although this combination was over 600g heavier.

The first excursion was to RSPB Bempton Cliffs Reserve, East Yorkshire.

There is no doubt that the Fuji X-T3 is capable of doing what I want and certainly the Fuji 100-400mm lens is right up there with the Nikon long zoom offerings. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the X-T3 is boxing above the weight of the mighty Nikon D500 in so many aspects! However, everything is subjective. I am an amateur photographer and I am only too aware that as such my images may not be as the work of the pro with the long prime lenses, but as an amateur who enjoys wildlife photography, it has exceeded my expectations so far. Amateur or not, I enjoy my interest and that’s all that matters to me.

Other settings used. I found “Sports Finder Mode” 1.2X crop very useful on the rare occasion I used it as it was with Nikon’s x1.5 crop.

I only used the Fuji x1.4TC for a few shots apart from static birds at home, however it looks very promising, more so than my Nikon 80-400mm VRII + TC which was very unforgiving.

Summary.

Bang for buck the X-T3 coupled with the 100-400mm lens and also the 1.4 X TC when required accomplishes everything my D500 and 80-400mm VRII lens did. In fact if viewing the resulting image taken with the added 1.4X TC, effectively making the lens a 150-560mm, then it’s almost into the Nikon D500 + Sigma 150-600mm territory. Considering costs new, the X-T3 + the 100 – 400mm and 1.4XTC are so much less than the Nikon D500 + 80-400mm combination, although more expensive than with the D500/Sigma combination. However, in my case the weight differentials win by a country mile.

So, here I have a combination of camera and lens which thus far more than exceeded my initial expectations in every way.

I will try to update this blog from time to time as my journey progresses, so pop back sometime and take a look.

You may also be wondering what else can the X-T3 offer you. My friend Dave Whenham, who has also moved away from Nikon for reasons other than wildlife, has written an interesting blog entitled “Feeling “right” “. It’s well worth a read, so click here: “Feeling “right””.

Finally, I bought my Fuji X-T3 and Fuji 100-400mm + TC from Cambrian Photography. A bricks and mortar camera shop where one can always be assured the very best advise when both buying and owning camera equipment.

This will be my honest review as a user of the long awaited Nikon D500 after it’s been in my hot sweaty hands for a while. Watch this space!!

At Last…my review of the Nikon D500!

I finally received my copy of the D500 in early May, one of the first deliveries in the UK thanks to ordering early with my local bricks and mortar dealer Cambrian Photography.

Why have I bought the D500?

All Nikon wildlife and sport shooters have waited many years for a replacement of the last semi professional DX camera, the D300s launched in 2009. Since then we’ve had fairly feeble attempts by Nikon to keep us happy, the D7000 (2010), the D7100(2013) and the D7200 (2015). I have no experience of the D7200, however the D7100 was a very capable DX and provide excellent imagery. The D7200 was a “lite” upgrade offering more in terms of gimmicks (wifi etc) rather than any real substance.

Then in January 2016 out of the blue came the announcement of the D500! Needless to say pre-orders were very high and Nikon had to rethink the availability dates due to demand. I placed my order immediately. The price was at first glance, breath taking, at £1789, however when one examined the full specification most concerns over price disappeared.

The camera sports a tilting screen, say hello to macro and video shooters, at last a real bonus. 4K video is part of the package as is touch screen and snapbridge (not available to iOS users yet, but for Android owners you are good to go. To some, gimmicks maybe! I was originally surprised that the pixel count was 4mp down on the D7100/7200, however this was no deal breaker. Most of all and eagerly awaited was the frame rate, up to 10fps, a sport and moving wildlife shooters delight.

At the launch Nikon announced that the D500 would accept XQD, SD (Secure Digital) and UHS-II compliant SDHC and SDXC memory cards. Of course to read the card one would need a XQD card reader. I bought the Lexar. The D7100/7200 suffered horribly from slow buffering and as such managing RAW at a fast fps was a struggle and the buffer just locked up. The D500 is capable of shooting a total of 200 RAW images at 10fps in a single burst before the buffer blocks up. This was a WOW! Then the owner is encourage to buy a SD (Secure Digital) and UHS-II compliant SDHC and SDXC memory card. More cost and of course a standard SD “SDHC I” card was deemed too slow to efficiently work in slot 2. I bought the Lexar 32GB SDHC II U3 300mB/sec. Cheaper XQD, therefore slower cards are available, but if one is buying a camera at this price I guess it’s best to achieve the best it can give.

I am not going to quote the full spec, but an extract is below.

Top 5 Features

New 20.9MP DX-format CMOS image sensor and EXPEED 5 image processing

ISO range: ISO 100 to 51,200 (expandable to Hi-5, ISO 1,6400,000)

Redesigned AF system with a 153 focus points, 99 cross-type sensors and a dedicated processor

I was amazed by the lightness of the camera compared to my D800E with battery 2.19 lb, the D500 weighs in at 1.90 lb/860 g. In fact it is 95 gms lighter when compared to the D7100 1 lb 11.0 oz/765 g. It feels perfectly balanced and the deeper front grip gives a noticeably more comfortable feel. The first thing I noted was the lack of accessories in the box. Gone are is the HDMI lead and pop up flash. This is the first DX camera to not be fitted with a flash which aligns the D500 closer to its professional FX cameras. However, on that point so much technology has been transplanted into this camera taken directly from the D5 that I can bear the loss of pop up flash. The menu structure is different with many new additions. The camera layout is very different too with the ISO button moved to the adjacent to the command dials. Also added is an F2 function button, which is not worth a lot as it’s available shortcuts are extremely small in number.

One thing that totally confused me was the absence of the Nikon UK warranty card. Even the local Nikon technicians were unable to answer where it had gone. Basically, there is no longer a warranty card supplied in UK camera, but on the rear of the user manual is a warranty sheet. It does not bear the camera serial number however, it is purely there for customer reference and can be stamped by the dealer if one so wishes. It was a niggle though. Ensure you register your camera with Nikon on their website.

Now for some not so good news!

On the down side! The next sections are of interest, however skip to the “full review” if you prefer.

Almost immediately I noticed that my camera had a severe battery drain issue. In fact even after recycling the battery 3 times I was unable to achieve better than around 500 clicks per charge. Nikon estimate 1300 minimum. I turned off all battery hungry attributes such as touch screen, Bluetooth and as the camera has an “Aircraft mode” turned that off too, all to no avail. Nikon to the rescue, one would think so, read on!

The saga of the En-El15 battery.

All cameras since the Nikon D810 now come with a EN-EL15 Li-ion20 newly designed battery. All previous EN-EL15 batteries were of a different design Li-ion01 and these batteries will work with the D500, but to a limited capacity. Nikon realising that users would be forced to buy extra EN-EL15 Li-ion20 batteries were quick to issue a free returns policy of up to 5 Li-ion01 batteries. I had three and Nikon were as good as their word in this instance. However, this did nothing to help my battery drain issue!

The saga of the battery drain.

I delayed sending my camera into Nikon under warranty as I wanted to take it to Norway on holiday and had an airshow opportunity. In mid July I sent it back to Nikon. Now, as I am a Nikon NPU member (Nikon Professional User) I expected a swift resolution, that was unfortunately not to happen! I was initially given a return estimate of 2-3 weeks, but this increased to 4-6 weeks when after 2 weeks I enquired why the repair status showed “awaiting repair”. At this point I enlisted the support of my retailer who contacted Nikon and were told I would receive the camera back in 3 days. Amazingly, but worryingly, the camera status remained at “awaiting repair” status, but then switched to “camera ready for dispatch” within only a few hours. What could they have done in that time? Well very little and they sent the repair report that said “camera inspected, cleaned and no fault found, service time 1 hour”. It arrived back the next day and I am please to say that the “no fault found” really meant that they had actually fixed the camera. 3 weeks on and I had achieved well over the estimated 1200 clicks per charge, in fact in excess of 1500!

Finally, during the process I contacted Thom Hogan, often thought of as the Nikon Guru, who is currently writing a blog about the D500 (of which he has 12 for assessment). He took time to reply and stated that in his opinion there were a number of cameras with this problem and was investigating the possibility that it could be either a firmware corruption is, or a serious issue requiring a major camera strip down. Luckily, mine seems to be the simpler of the two.

You can read Tom Hogans excellent D500 bloghere and I highly recommend his book available in pdf here.

Camera fixed, lets get back to the real review 🙂

Nikon D500 real world review.

I continue this review and apologies for the gap between the last submission. Much has happened since I last wrote, including the acquisition of new lenses for my wildlife work. The Sigma 150-600mm F5.6-6.3 Contemporary and the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lenses. So, for the rest of this review I will concentrate on the D500 for wildlife and the lenses used with it.

The D500 as a Wildlife camera.

There is no doubt that the D500 is the camera I, like thousands of others, have waited for! Compared to the D7100, which is a terrific camera with caveats, the D500 performs as the independent reviews claim. The high ISO performance for a cropped sensor camera is excellent and the dynamic range of the images are a big improvement over my D7100. However, this is not about the D7100, but the D500, so let’s look at some real world imagery captured with the camera.

This is not about MTF charts or ISO image comparisons, but about my experiences with the camera.

The Nikon 80-400mm VRII was a game changer when it was launched in 2013. I replaced the aged slow focusing VRI “D” version, although many were surprised at its eye watering price. Over time second hand copies appeared and although prices remained high, it was more affordable. Two major attributes, as with the old lens, is the weight and flexible zoom with 80mm at the wide end. This makes it very versatile, however it looses 200mm to the Sigma/Tamron offerings. With the Sigma/Tamrons at the longest end one looses 1/3rd of a stop, 5.6 v 6.3, not a huge amount and pretty insignificant considering the extra reach. The Nikon 80-400mm feels well balanced on the D500 and the AF focusing is very fast and maintains excellent focus when tracking birds in flight.

Most of all it’s versatility and weight makes it a winner. The D500 and 80-400mm VRII makes for a reasonably lightweight combination. I particularly like the wider focal length of 80mm (120mm field of view on a cropped sensor), compared to the Sigma/Tamron 150-to 600mm (180-900mm) Contemporary and Sport lens offerings. That said, the Sigma and Tamron lenses do give an extra 200mm at the long end and this can be extremely valuable. In fact I think the Sigma boxes way above its weight and I really enjoy using it.

Like the Nikon AF-S 80-400mm VRII, the AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens superseded the very popular and extremely Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4 ED-IF Lens. I had one and loved it, although reasonably light weight it screamed for an update. In fact most owners used it with Nikon TC-14 TEII permanently attached and it worked very well indeed. Then in 2015 Nikon launched the AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens. “PF” (Phased Fresnel) which was responsible for its compact and lightweight size. It achieved new levels of sharpness and clarity with virtually no chromatic aberration or ghosting. Once again, I waited and in the end second hand copies were rare and expensive. I bought a new one and use it constantly attached to a Nikon TC-14 TEII. I can honestly say that I have not encountered a situation where the lens slows in AF with the TC fitted. On the D500 it has a field of view with the TC of 630mm! It is my “to go” wildlife combination and the D500 feels very well balanced.

.

Female Kingfisher – Spinnies – Bangor.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens. 1/200@f5.6 – ISO400 – EV= -0.33

Cormorant.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens. 1/200@f9 – ISO400 – EV= -0.33

Female Kingfisher.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens. 1/400@f11 – ISO400 – EV= -0.33

Female Kingfisher.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens. 1/500@f7.1 – ISO240 – EV= -0.33

I am delighted with the D500 for wildlife photography, but are there any downsides? For those who will struggle to buy the camera and wish to use it for fast and furious sport and wildlife work, then you will require XQD and higher grade SDHC cards. At the time of writing the buyer should add around £100 to their budget.

What else can the camera do?

The camera is also sold with the Nikon AF-S 16-80mm f2.8-4G VR ED DX Lens. Initially, I didn’t want to use the D500 for anything other than wildlife and I didn’t possess any DX lenses, FX only. However, those who may be thinking the same way, please think again! The D500 can take superb imagery no matter what genre and although many will buy and subsequently only use it for wildlife/sport, others will soon realise its further capabilities. I did realise that and bought my first Nikon DX lenses, the AF-S 16-80mm f2.8-4G VR ED DX and the AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4 G. Some images below taken with both lenses.

The Nikon D500 delivers on the speed, performance, and quality that the DX format originally promised us. We have a DX sensor that rivals the image quality of full-frame cameras for per-pixel acuity and high ISO performance, with an agility and responsiveness that is up to the most demanding photographic tasks. All in a compact and lightweight DSLR system. Also at this time of writing the camera has not dropped in price although good second hand copies are now available.

If you need speed for action photography, then currently and according to all, yes all the reviews, then the D500 is for you. It is far , far more than just a “fast” camera, it is capable of terrific imagery no matter what genre of photography you specialise in.

I would also recommend a grip. I had the Nikon MB-D17 and it is an outrageous price. I bought it because of my initial high battery drain problems mentioned earlier. I sold it and bought the Pixel Vertax non OEM grip and spent the rest of the money more wisely! It’s the 2nd Pixel grip I’ve had and I really cannot tell little difference between it and the Nikon.

Cons.

I mentioned earlier that at that time Snapbridge for iOS was not available. It arrived in September 2016 and without going into details, forget it! It is awful, totally non-intuitive and Nikon will have to work hard to ensure it is anything apart from a failure if your intention is to effortlessly send images to your Apple device. On the upside if you want to add GPS data to the images and upload them in Lightroom or other programmes it works well.

The other problem is wi-fi, touch screen and Snapbridge is that all these will place a severe drain on your batteries. The addition of “Airplane On” mode will stop this drain.

This review is my own experience as an owner who has now shot over 12,000 images in 6 months. No, it is not technical, but an honest review from a real user.

I haven’t written anything on my Blog since February and much has happened and my photography world has expanded. Not so much for digital, but analogue. This may seem strange, but I have become smitten by film again after 12 years of abandoning this genre.

Earlier this year I blogged about my acquisition of a Rolleiflex 2.8f, see hereSince then I have been busy buying a collection of more medium format cameras. These include a Rolleiflex T, one of the very last of the production in mint condition. A Rolleicord Vb, also one of the very last produced and again in mint condition. Both cameras work perfectly with no shutter or other issues. I also bought a Rolleiflex Baby Mk2 grey 127 (4×4) film camera. Unfortunately this will be retained as a display camera only as soon after purchase the shutter jammed and the repair is cost prohibitive. An Agfa Isolette folding camera was a gift and works well. Here is my line up.

From left to right Rolleiflex 2.8f, Rolleiflex Baby, Rolleiflex T, Rolleicord vb, Bronica rf645 and the Agfa Isolette.

Oh, I forgot to mention the latest addition, a mint Bronica rf645 with Zenzanon RF 65mm F/4 lens. Much more about this later.

I wrote an article on my film photography and this was released in the Winter edition of our Postal Photographic Club on-line magazine. This was a review on why I returned to film photography and can be read here (page 39).

Anyone who has a history of film photography will appreciate why the Rolleiflex/Rolleicord are icons of film photography and much used by journalists and Street photographers. Diane Arbus, Cecil Beaton and of course my personal favourite Vivian MeierMaier’s massive body of work would come to light when in 2007 her work was discovered at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest Side. From there, it would eventually impact the world over and change the life of the man who championed her work and brought it to the public eye, John Maloof. It certainly had a massive impact on me.

As most readers know I am a keen Street photographer inspired by the use of Fuji X cameras which are discreet, however I now also use the Roleiflex which is anything but discreet, but that’s the camera people walk up to me and want to talk about.

A little later I’ll discuss why film photography has become so important to me. Now, I’ll take a look at my latest acquisition, the Bronica rf645.

One web article says “There are some cameras that just rock my world, and the Bronica RF645 is one of them. I don’t know what the allure is, but it is a very handsome camera. It also seems to be a camera that everyone seems to pass by”. Read more here

The Bronica RF645 is a medium formatrangefinder with interchangeable lenses made by the Japanese company Bronica. It captures 6×4.5 images onto 120 or 220 film. This camera has been introduced in 2000 and discontinued in 2005, with Tamron contined support until 2014.

The camera was awarded Camera Press Club’s “Special prize” at the Camera Grand Prix 2001, EISA award for professional camera in 2001-2002, and TIPA’s best professional photo product for year 2001-2002.

Unlike my Rolleiflex’s the Bronica rf645 offers an electronic exposure meter with the speed and exposure which can to be seen in the viewfinder.

The odd issue!

Unlike most film cameras the film transported mechanism will only allow vertical (portrait orientated) images when the camera is held the horizontal position. Landscape orientated images are captured with camera held in the vertical or portrait position! That caught me out, perhaps reading the manual was a good idea after all! The viewfinder includes a useful electronic grid to assist framing the picture and avoids loosing subject out of frame. Another comparison with the Fuji X – Pro 1 optical viewfinder.

Film.

I use mainly Kodak Tri-X ISO400 or Fomapan 1 ISO400 for B&W work and Fujifilm Provia ISO100 and 400 and Velvia 100 and of course 50 for transparency film.

We can go many years without snow where we live and I live some 20 miles from our National Park of Snowdonia. Even then snow in Snowdonia can be a quite rare occurrence and seems to becoming more so as our planet warms. However this year, we have been lucky, depending on ones point of view, and welcomed a short period of cold weather and snow.

A major problem with snow is controlling the camera white balance. This is even more difficult where areas some areas lie in shadows and parts in sunlight. This is the derived effects from the colour temperature measured on the Kelvin scale and can normally be controlled in-camera by setting the White Balance control to “Auto” However, in extreme conditions “Auto” White Balance cannot control well. OK, one could change the setting in-camera, but I find this is fraught with difficulties. From a bright sunny day, to a dull wet day the images will have varying colour temperatures. These will be the result of colour temperatures being extremely varied and from warm to cool. As an example a hot summers day can be around 5000-5400K, a dull day however this changes to e.g. 6000-7500K. The chart below shows how this temperature can change depending on the light source.

All images are taken in the RAW format. Please click on images for a larger view.

It is very difficult to adjust the white balance within jpeg images. In fact it’s impossible to make this adjustment accurately.

The dreaded “blue” snow! This is a camera white balance problem where the focus and predominance of the frame is centred on a non snow area. Also, shaded areas which are have a warmer or colder colour temperature give a cast.

In Adobe Lightroom I have used the “Radial Filter”. This powerful tool allows me to adjust any selected part of a RAW image and also in a more restricted way a TIFF or jpeg..

A full tutorial on this procedure can be found here. Follow the module, but replace the routine in this video with adjustments for white balance. Below is a screen drag where I have adjusted a small area of the image to demonstrate the effect.

Below is the finished result where the Radial Filter has been used to control both the snow on the mountains and in the reflections.

Now for a really, really bad example!

Nikon D800E + 50mm f1.8 G.

As can be seen the colder (because it’s in the shade) area has a totally different colour temperature to the distant mountains. In fact the cast gradually reduces as a greater area is exposed to the sunlight. Firstly, I tackled the shadow foreground thus:

Adjusting the “temperature” slider I arrived at the image below. However, don’t over do it as the area will start to “brown” in colour. I also wanted to retain that the area appeared as it did, in shade. Next I dealt with the remaining cooler part of the image, the centre left hill which was not as badly affected as the foreground.

Once again I selected the part I wished to process.

This was adjusted more sensitively than the foreground and the finished adjustment is shown below.

I have bothered to do this blog as I was becoming very frustrated that the camera “auto” White Balance adjustment was just not clever enough to differentiate between the coldest and warmest areas of an image under extreme conditions. Yet another reason why Adobe Lightroom is my post processing software of choice.

Long time, no post…sorry….again! I’ve been up to my eyes in it, but a new acquisition has spurred me on to post on my Blog. That new acquisition is the Rolleiflex 2.8f! Sometimes one has a deep joy moment and this ranks towards the top, if not the very top in terms of analogue photography.

Although this was not my first Rolleiflex having had a “3.5 T” for a short period. My first Rolleflex was produced in the 1930’s and although physically almost “mint” in condition suffered from a poor viewing screen and mirror degradation which gave a very dark viewing experience. This made composition and focussing very difficult. So, I was absolutely delighted when a friend offered me his 2.8f, this was an extremely generous gesture as the price was unbelievably low, but also it is in very good condition. It also came with the complete set of “Bay 3” filters and hood in the original leather case, which alone cost a King’s ransom! The only item of the 2.8f which does not work is the coupled light meter and it is hard to find one that does. Many owners never repaired this function because they preferred to use a more accurate light meter instead. That is what I do, however repairs can be made and there are many excellent Rollei repairers in the UK which offer this service at a reasonable price. I may well get mine repaired as this would increase its future value.

This 2.8f model S/No: 2455455 model Model Model K7F2, January 1966 – December 1966, with Planar lens, flat glass provision and 12/24 frame counter. 2,8F-2.455.000 – 2.8F-2.479.999. So this camera is the 455 camera of this model to be produced. In total 88,000 of this camera were produced. The full details are:

During the production of the Rolleiflex other models included the “Magic”, “Baby” “Tele” and the uber expensive and extremely desirable “Wide” The 2.8f is regarded as the “must have” Rolleiflex due to the large f2.8 finder lens and f2.8 taking lens. Being Zeiss lenses the reasoning is obvious why this was and remains a sought after Rolleflex which still enjoys top status amongst analogue cameras. The first Rolleiflex TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) camera was produced in 1929 and production continued until the 2000, when it was producing the 2.8 GX, although the last camera it produced was a special edition 2.8 FX.

My journey so far.

I visited Conwy harbour (Conwy, Gwynedd, UK0 on a cold early January day this year armed with a roll of Fuji Provia 120 ISO100 transparency film and a Kodak Tri-X B&W 120 ISO400 film. Taking great care to remember to expose 1 stop lower using B&W when fitted with Rollei “yellow” filter, I carefully set every shot up both hand holding and tripod mounted. I sent both films off to “Peak Processing” and to my joy received back both films perfectly exposed.

Below are a few of my first results. The negatives have been scanned on a CanonScan 8800F flatbed scanner. To say I am delighted is an understatement.

One thing missing was the lens cap. Fotodiox do a 3rd Party superbly built replacement which is sourced from Amazon UK although it is despatched from the US. The last image shows the Rolleiflex 2.8f looking smart and ready to go for 2015.

I have bought my 2015 supply of 120 film which will supplement my dwindling stock. Is this an expensive interest, you bet it is. Film is hardly cheap and processing expensive. I enjoy it and what it does achieve is very important because it slows me down, makes me consider every shot, but most of all it’s great fun.

After buying my Fuji X kit and being satisfied I’d bought a kit that would satisfy around 90% of my photography, I sold my Nikon D800! However, I kept nearly all of my full frame lenses, mostly all pro grade and I am glad I did. They worked fine on my Nikon D7100, but it’s horses for courses and of course with the DX crop factor of x1.5 all my lenses had a narrower field of view by that proportion. In fact, I only used my D7100 coupled to the Nikon AF-S 80-400mm VRII and I use it exclusively for wildlife. The Fuji X system is very special for me as it provides excellent imagery and enabled me to take an active interest in Street Photography. With its light weight portability it’s my first camera for holiday’s, travel and street photography. So, why the change of heart and a return to full frame with the D800E?

Simply it’s all to do with my landscape photography. Anyone here who has owned the D800, let alone the D800E will know of its extraordinary capability to take superb ultra sharp images. In fact I was so impressed with my DX D7100 with it’s AA filter removed I always wished I had originally bought the E version of the D800. The most important aspect for me with both the D800 and D7100 was the ability to take images capable of being severely cropped, but retain superb sharpness and detail.

In June 2014, Nikon did me a massive favour and launched the D810! Suddenly, the D800E which was retailing at the time at £2350 nose dived on the second hand market as folks sold to buy the new kid on the block. Good for them, they enabled me to buy a D800E at only a small amount more than I sold my D800 for. I did look at the D810, but quite frankly with it’s £2400 price tag I wasn’t interested in the little extra it offered over the now ceased D800/E range. Neither the D800 and more especially the “E” version are for the inexperienced photographer or one new to the world of the dSLR. However, with good technique, handheld or tripod mounted, the camera gives provides excellent imagery. Keep the speed up!

Below are a few images from the D800E and I can only say that it’s so good to say hello both to the FX camera again, but to use my 35mm Nikon lenses to their true potential once again.